King Tut

PAVCS World History A

Accomplishments
Tutankhamen is known as the Boy King because he became pharaoh at approximately 8 years of age. The discovery of his intact tomb is why he is so widely known. It is the only tomb of a pharaoh that was not robbed over time. He (kind of) restored Egypts ancient gods which were forbidden to be worshipped by Tuts father

Death
It is true that Tut is known for his death, specifically his tomb, but what happened to the boy king? He died between 19-21 years of age

Conspiracy???
There was more than a little reason to believe that King Tut may have been murdered. The two principal suspects, Aye who succeeded him as king, and General Horemhab who in turn succeeded Aye to the throne, both appear to have been powerful men who, in effect, ruled Egypt while King Tut was a child. It would not be unreasonable at all to believe that, as King Tut grew into a young man, the two elder men would have resented losing much of their power. It is also noteworthy that the young King Tut was greatly loved in ancient Egypt for restoring the Amun priesthood after the death of his presumed heretic father, Akhenaten. However, this was almost certainly the work of Aye and General Horemhab, who could have even resented Tut receiving all the glory of their work.

Evidence?
One of the main reasons that murder has been considered as a possible cause of King Tut's death is because of a fracture to the back of his head. Revealed in an X-ray of his mummy made by the University of Liverpool, a trauma specialist at Long Island University in the US theorized that the blow was not caused by an accident. However, according to Dr. Zahi Hawass, Head of Egyptian Antiquities. "The entire team agrees that there is NO evidence for murder present in the skull of Tutankhamun. There is NO area on the back of the skull that indicates a partially healed blow. There are two bone fragments loose in the skull. These cannot possibly have been from an injury from before death, as they would have become stuck in the embalming material. The scientific team has matched these pieces to the fractured cervical vertebra and foramen magnum, and believes these were broken either during the embalming process or by Carters team".

Theories Still Exist

In the case of King Tut, one must first remember that his mummy is not in very good condition today. When Carter discovered it, his team basically dismantled the corpse while looking for amulets and other jewelry. Furthermore, many of its parts present at the original examination by Carter are now missing, and both skin and bones were broken in numerous places, supposedly also by the Carter team.

Natural Causes?
There is a significant break in the left femur "Several pathologies including Kohler disease [bone disorder] were diagnosed in Tutankhamun; none alone would have caused death. Genetic testing] revealed indications of malaria in Tutankhamun. These results suggest avascular bone necrosis [condition in which the poor blood supply to the bone leads to weakening or destruction of an area of bone] in conjunction with the malarial infection as the most likely cause of death in Tutankhamun.

Natural Causes?
Walking impairment and malarial disease sustained by Tutankhamun is supported by the discovery of canes and an afterlife pharmacy in his tomb," the authors write. They add that a sudden leg fracture, possibly from a fall, might have resulted in a life-threatening condition when a malaria infection occurred.

Done Deal?
Not so fast says Dr. Hawass - "Part of the team believes that the above scenario is absolutely not possible. They maintain that the fracture mentioned above can only have been done by Carters team during extraction of the body from the coffin. They argue that if such a fracture had been suffered in life, there would have been evidence for hemorrhage or hematoma present in the CT scan. They believe the embalming liquid was pushed into the fracture by Carters team".

What Do You Think?

Hmmmmwho knows for sure. There are still many answers to many questions with the answers hidden in archaeological and historical evidence.

Created by Forensic Anthroplogist